Hawk Migration over the Keys

Cooper's Hawk taken at Green Cay by Bill Kominsky.

Today I read a great article from Birder's World about Hawk Migration over the Keys. I had heard last year that the Curry Hammock Hawk Watch was cancelled due to lack of funds and staff. This year I really want to get down there for a weekend of raptor gazing. The raptor migration season is best from mid-September to November. HawkWatch International has some nice data and an analysis of the last 10 years of research done on Keys raptor migration.

One of the things I found most interesting in the conclusions, or I should say questions rather ,on accipiter migration. I thought it was really unusual how Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's would avoid over-water migration routes up north, like at Cape May Hawk Watch, but then fly right off the Keys into the unknown of the Gulf. I think there is a lot more about migration that we just haven't uncovered yet. I have been wanting to see this migration spectacle since I first heard about it a few years ago and since Birder's World was so kind to open this article to the public, it has lit the fire even more.

Barbados Threadsnake

Blair Hedges of Pennsylvania State University has recently published his discovery of the world's smallest snake in Zootaxa. Of the 3000 known species, the Barbados Threadsnake is the smallest coming in at approximately 100mm in total adult length. Though islanders knew of the snake before it was often confused with other Leptotyphlops of the Lesser Antilles. After some DNA sequencing the Barbados snake was found to be a seperate species and endemic to the island. Hedges named it in honor of his wife who helped with his research, Leptotyphlops carlae. I encourage you to check out the full Zootaxa article.

Taken from Hedges publication: A. Leptotyphlops carlae (female) found on Barbados and B. Leptotyphlops breuili (male) found on St. Lucia